Ari Lennox & Artist Transparency
Ari Lennox recently shared that she doesn’t plan on releasing music anytime soon. Her reason being that all or most of her written songs are about men/sex and she no longer considers those topics of interest to her. Personally, when I read the tweets I instantly was able to relate regarding my friendships/relationships and writing. Men and sex have moved very far down the totem pole of my mental lexicon and I’m more interested in a plethora of things including shadow work, self-love, and increasing my emotional intelligence.
I shared her tweets to my IG story with the caption: “Artist transparency, I love it.” and I saw it pop up on other IG pages that I follow with varying commentary.
#1 — Who is she?
#2 — She betta release some music or else her fans will forget about her.
#3 — She’s acting like she’s Beyonce or Rihanna. She should follow their lead. Beyonce released album after album and worked tirelessly to build her empire. It’s just now that she’s scaling it back so she can relax and raise her children.
I resisted responding to these perspectives because again, I’m working on increasing my emotional intelligence and it’s not like a back and forth will change their perspectives. Instead, I took this as an opportunity to deconstruct these perspectives and analyze the “culture” in the process.
First off, the “culture” can be defined as Black American culture. More specifically, Black American culture that centers on Millennials (1980–1996) and Generation Z (1997–2012).
[Perspective #1] — Who is she?
You know, there used to be a time where fans didn’t know all about their favorite artists’ personal lives. Social Media has changed that (Soulja Boy changed the game with Myspace in the early 2000s). Artists have more control of their public image and use their platforms for various reasons. Some, primarily as a marketing tool, and others, out of necessity because after all, they’re people just like the rest of us. But since you asked let me tell you what I know about Ari,
She’s a SOUL singer in her late 20s that currently lives on the west coast but is originally from the DMV. Before she was signed to Dreamville, she uploaded covers and original content to Youtube since 2008 (and still uploads covers). From what I’ve observed she’s inspired by Beyonce, Tweet, Bilal, Badu, Jill Scott, and other vocal greats. Her IG is very candid as she posts photos/videos working out at regla ass Planet Fitness, nature walks, and her recent food journey (no sweets, no alcohol). She’s even shared a story or two about how her love life has changed since becoming sorta famous.
Ari doesn’t seem to have many A-list famous friends nor does she attend industry parties. For all intents and purposes, she seems to be perfectly fine with wearing Target lingerie and spending time with her dog on the patio. It’s interesting how her label head, J. Cole stays out of the limelight just as much if not more, has never had a strong social media presence, but gets praised for being lowkey.
[Perspective #2: She betta release some music or else her fans will forget about her]
Technology has definitely sped time up. People, places, and things seem to have a media cycle of 5 days IF that. For example, as I write this, former NBA player Nate Robinson suffered an embarrassing loss (he got knocked the fuck out) in his attempt to have a boxing career. There have been memes circulating in the past 24 hours, other athletes have come to his defense, and Nate himself has made a public statement. The irony is that by this time next week no one will care about that moment because we’ll be focusing on an old tweet of a popping artist, who Future is dating, and the latest viral Tik Tok clip.
Any artist, influencer, athlete, or entertainer has their core base that is along for the ride even when their fave isn’t trending (or are on the verge of being canceled). At the top of the year, Ari made a video coming for Gayle King’s interview question (rape allegations) about the late Kobe Bryant. She made disparaging comments about King and Oprah Winfrey and their attempt to “bring the black man down”. I’m assuming her publicist got her together quickly because that video was removed and she scrubbed her IG clean vowing to take some time for herself.
At first, I was disappointed in Ari because I believed she was being used to justify the misogynoir directed towards Winfrey and King by run-of-the-mill-bitches ain’t shit but hoes and tricks rappers such as Snoop Dogg. I even unfollowed her but later followed her again because to me, we all say stupid things. On my Twitter account, I have this tweet pinned to the top of my page, I said so much stupid shit 5 years ago. I’ll look back on this year of my life and say the same thing 5 years from now. Don’t even get me started on Facebook Memories…
Nonetheless, I think about the D’Angelos who released albums 5 years (Brown Sugar 1995 > Voodoo 2000) and 14 years apart (Black Messiah 2014). Erykah Badu’s hasn’t released a project since 2015 and she’s still relevant to her fan base and the culture (Baduizm 1997 > Mama’s Gun 2000 > Worldwide Underground 2003 > New Amerykah Pt 1 2008 > New Amerykah Pt 2 2010 > But You Caint Use My Phone 2015).
I reminisce back to the summer of 2012 when I was a 20-year-old woman partying, and writing poetry when Channel Orange was released. In my eyes that is a complete album where you have no urge to skip. It is fluid, it’s a story, and every song has a powerful meaning (and all of the songs are not about love & sex). Currently, Frank Ocean hasn’t released an album since 2016.
In short, quality over quantity. After all, Ari is a self-proclaimed soul singer, so all of her music should reflect that.
[Perspective #3: She’s acting like she’s Beyonce or Rihanna. She should follow their lead. Beyonce released album after album and worked tirelessly to build her empire. It’s just now that she’s scaling it back so she can relax and raise her children.]
Beyonce and Rihanna are in completely different genres (leaning more towards pop) but they are human beings just like us. They deserve the room for personal development and creating memories with their families and friends. Both of these women’s careers have been managed by the machine (mainstream music industry). That machine tells you to overexert yourself in absence of your own personal desires. Beyonce’s 1st album was straight-up R&B, and the consecutive albums/tours (while under the management of her father, Matthew Knowles) were arguably the antithesis of that. It seems that since Beyonce ended that professional relationship, her R&B roots have somewhat resurfaced.
However, Beyonce is Beyonce. Rihanna is Rihanna. Ari is Ari. I am who I am and You are who You are. We all have different journeys that may not mirror the others, that’s okay. Our levels of success will differ because our ideas of success may differ, that’s okay. If Ari or any other artist followed the blueprint of another artist that doesn’t speak to their soul then they’re being inauthentic.
A critique that I have of the culture is the “Keeping It Real” effect. [A] We champion people on their path to success (we admire the grind and the authenticity). [B] We celebrate their triumph when they get on (many of us love to brag about how we were day one fans, or we knew that this person would make it). [C] When that person’s star becomes too bright we may don’t know how to receive it and as a result, we rejoice when they make a misstep. [D] If that person ever falls we mock them and dress it up as a humbling experience. [E] We chastise the fallen star for sinking back to the bottom and we waste no time reminding them of what they once were and perhaps will never return to.
Simply put, operating as a machine is a function of capitalism. Ari, a young Black woman, shouldn’t have to feel pressured to mimic that style of artistry.
I’ve come to the conclusion that we, of the culture, see things and people through different lenses. I’m a radical feminist, womanist, sex-positive, fat positive, conscious, anti-capitalism, queer, unambiguous Black woman that exists within various cultures. I understand that everyone won’t think the way I do. I also understand that it is not my responsibility to extol emotional labor to educate these people. Just as I have evolved in my thinking through life experiences and personal development, I have a sliver of hope that others will too. But if they don’t, the world will continue to turn and turn.
To Ari, take all of the time you need. Make music that satiates your soul.
